Mostly defined through its ideological opposition to Popular Indian Cinema, Indian Parallel Cinema, in general terms, is understood as India’s art or alternative cinema. More specifically, it refers to the ‘New Cinema Movement’ (roughly from 1969 to 1985), which might be seen as a historical moment when the impact of this art cinema was both nationally and internationally at its height. Major figures include Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, M. S. Sathyu, Shyam Benegal, Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G. Aravindan, Govind Nihalani, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Girish Kasaravalli, and Ketan Mehta.